When I was reviewing Understanding Maths – Telling Time by appp media UG, I wondered what it could offer us that are not already covered in the many time telling apps available in the App Store. Well, my first impression was that it is not kiddish like most others. Cute and fun games can sometimes be distracting and overwhelming while Telling Time’s clean and minimalist look is more befitting of early elementary students. Upon closer look, I realize that it also offers many options for customizing the learning experience that are missing in other apps.

What we love…

The app reads the time in our own voice.

What we’d love to see…

Questions on time in am and pm.

Summary

This is a comprehensive learning app on telling time that is both customizable and functional. Kids will love to hear their own voice telling the time in the app.

Our Rating

Firstly, the app can be used in 3 languages – US English (default), UK English or Deutsch. If you need to change the language, you should do so before starting to use the app by touching the globe from the main menu. Secondly, you or your children can record your own voice in telling the time by replacing all the audio or just some of the words. If you have a whole class of students using the app, each of them will love to be able to personalize their account with their own voice. Thirdly, you can choose between the formal (17:20 is five twenty p.m.) or popular (twenty after five) way of telling time. Last but most importantly, you can specify what skill each student should be working on.

The first lesson that the app teaches is the vocabulary of time. In making their own recordings, students learn about the words that are used in telling time. Their recordings can be used in an interactive Learning Clock that reads the time shown on the clock as students move the hands of the clock. This helps students get familiarized with the structure of telling the time, either using “to” and “after” (popular way) or with minutes only (formal way). When students move the hands around the clock, they also get to see the corresponding change in the day, from morning to the next day through the night on a 24-hour format.

The 3 main learning activities in the app teach the skills of setting the analogue and digital clocks and calculating periods of time. The hands of the clock are color-coordinated with the corresponding numbers on the clock to help students make the connection. For example, if you touch the pink minute hand, the numbers in minutes show up in pink. The questions in these activites start out easy then gradually get more difficult, from setting the time to the hour, half-hour, quarter-hour and finally to blocks of 5 minutes. As students switch between the 3 learning activities, the level of difficulty of questions is synchronized across the activities. But you can adjust the level of difficulty for the individual activity as you monitor each child’s progress.

A unique feature of this app is that students can continue to use the app in their daily routines and teachers can use it in their classrooms outside of the learning activities. The Timer and My Clock are great additions that encourage students to apply the knowledge and skills that they have learnt. The timer can also be used as a countdown tool to demonstrate how long a certain number of minutes feels like. As an added bonus, students can accumulate stars earned in the learning activities to unlock new clock faces for their clock and they can switch them around in the app.

In summary, Understanding Maths – Telling Time is a comprehensive learning app that will teach students how to tell the time, how to set the time on the analogue and digital clocks and how to do math with periods of time at a pace that suits their ability. But what steals the show is the app’s ability to tell the time in yours or the students’ own voice. With its straightforward approach and minimalist look, it is best suited for classroom learning and practice.

Grace was working in the fields of early childhood education and staff training before quitting to attend to her 4 children full time. She and her family live in Singapore, which is well known for her highly competitive education system.

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Meet the iMums

The iMums - Amanda, Alison, Mary and Grace - are four mothers from different parts of the world dedicated to informing parents about the best digital stories, educational apps, fun games and technology products available for their children. We also offer the latest news in apps for kids, interesting articles, developer interviews, free apps and regular giveaways! Read more.

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